Closure
by Cringe
Summary: A widow and her children find comfort in visiting the grave of the deceased. [Postwar] HPGW


Title: Closure  
Part: 1/3  
A/N: Generally I read HP slash, but this is my friend's favorite pairing so I decided to write this for her ;-) Next part posted next week.  
Disclaimer:I no own, you know sue 'kay? ;)

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"No no, I wouldn't want to trouble you" she says softly, dark brown eyes gentle and filled with sorrow, to the guide beside her.

He hesitates, and then acquiesces, withdrawing with a slight bow of the head. There was a sharp snapping sound and he was gone.

She stares at the spot a moment more before turning towards a hill, the scattered rubble of what was once a lovely house.

She'd once planned on living here with him.

That's why she was here today; it was their anniversary after all.

She trudges up the hill slowly, feeling the breeze ruffle her unruly hair around her face; she catches a strand and tucks it behind her ear, balancing a bouquet of flowers in the crook of her arm.

Making her way up she slips and catches herself, and unlike the last time she was here, there was no one to catch her fall.

Wiping her muddied hands onto her green robes she continues, meandering through the tall overgrown grasses and weeds.

She stops at the ruined stone foundations of a house. The debris scattered everywhere as though the house had been shattered, inside and out.

And it had been shattered.

Shattered by misguided trust.

Shattered by betrayal.

Shattered by love.

She steps up to the molding stone, delicate fingertips trailing across the sand worn edges, reading the stories written in stone.

She can imagine a sheen of green flickering momentarily across the surface of the plain colored gray rocks.

Green the shade of Avada Kedvra.

A blessing and a curse.

She let's her hands fall away from the stone and she steps through the house, to the other side, facing away from the rest of Godric Hollow's inhabitants.

Onto the pathway leading to a private cemetery.

Absentmindedly, she turns her head and looks at the remains of the house as she steps through.

An overturned jar, once full of floo powder.

A scorch mark on the 'floor' forever engraved in tribute or mocking triumph.

An overturned rusty crib is creaking in the wind.

And she walks toward it, curiosity and sadness filling her.

She stands over its sad remains and merely watches it tilt and creak. She turns to continue on her path when the crunch of glass startles her.

She looks down, and slowly lifts her foot from a picture frame.

Kneeling, she picks it up gently, afraid that it will fall apart and break.

The glass is cracked and shattered and so she cleans it off and pulls out the sun worn photograph, the images faded and the laughter on the green eyed woman's face difficult to discern.

She waves her wand gently, levitating it to get a closer look.

Somehow, it doesn't seem right that she touch it.

Trailing it before her she steps once more outside, to stand before three graves.

She stops before the first two and gently touches each one in turn, a flower left atop each stone marker as she prays for them.

_James Potter  
__Loving Husband and Father_

_Lily Potter  
__Loving Wife and Mother_

She stops at the final one and settles down in front of it, setting the remaining flowers before it, the old picture facing upwards atop the bouquet.

_Harry James Potter_  
_The Boy Who Lived  
__Defeater of You-Know-Who  
__Loving Husband_

"Hello dear" she says, she trails her finger along the letters of the last line, engraved a year after the marker had been set, "I told them again that you wouldn't want those other lines" she shrugs, "but they felt it needful to keep it there"

"All the more fools they are for making a Martyr out of you" she rocked gently feeling the breeze sweep her red hair around her face, "They even have a holiday dedicated to you" she laughed scornfully, "The day the Boy-Who-Lived defeated You-Know-Who" her brown eyes grow sad, "The day you died"

"You were only 27 love, why did you go?" she asks softly, "for the better of the Wizarding World?" she closes her eyes and sniffles a little, she cocks her head slightly, and in the silence, imagines she hears his voice, she laughs slightly, with no little bitterness "No, for the better of our children" she shakes her head and laughs in true amusement this time, "your way of thinking was always somewhat Slytherin when it came to your family's welfare Harry"

"Hogwarts reopens tomorrow" she says, her eyes lighting up for the first time, "Evan's eleven now" she adds brightly, "I imagine he'll be sorted into Gryffindor, he's entirely to much like you. I imagine he wants to live up to his father's expectations" her eyes softened wistfully, "you were right dear, little Abby took after me. I'm just sorry you aren't here to see her. She's got my face, your eyes, and her hair's red." She grins, "and it's not Weasley red either. Remus keeps saying she's like Lily reborn. He says she's a handful, and no doubt she's our child" she says amused, "Severus says that she's, and I quote, "As nosy and ignorant as her father, but she has her mother's brains". I don't know what to make of that last part," she grins, "She's taken after your Slytherin side, conning Evan into telling her stories about you. I wonder what Severus will say about a Potter in his house hm?"

"They wanted to come today but…" she shrugs, half sheepishly, half sadly, "I just couldn't…share you with them today, not today of all days." She smiles wistfully, "You remember that farce we kept up? How you never believed we'd pull it off? You should have seen everyone's faces when I announced that we were married, Ron and Mione had to pull out the papers to prove it, and only then would they put the last part on the stone" she reached out lightly before dropping her hands to her lap again,

"We always knew we had little time together, but we were happy weren't we? We were happy for 7 lovely married years. Evan still misses you, and he never misses the chance to brag of is father to his friends, or regale his sister with stories of your prowess in chess against Uncle Ron" she pauses before throwing her head back and laughing, "You remember that time you called Ron 'Ronniekins' in front of the Evan when you were irritated? Abby heard the story last week and began calling Ron 'Uncle Ronniekins' discretely, Ron's thoroughly exasperated with her, as well his inability to prove who we all know is the culprit, and keeps blaming your genes"

"Dumbledore's amused by this whole ordeal, the kids seem to do him good, he's aged at least ten years since you died. The twinkle's almost back, but we all know that his time is as limited as your was." She smiled sadly, "Remus spends the most time with the kids, it's hardest on him I suppose. He's the last Marauder now that Sirius is gone. And you were his link to Lily and James, and now you're gone too. All he's got left are your legacies." She suddenly snickered, a little watery, but a snicker nonetheless, "Severus keeps grouching about how in 5 years there'll be another set of 'Lily and James' running around Hogwarts and 'Wasn't one set enough?' "

She smiled morosely, "I'll give Evan the letters when he turns 16 and your pensieve, and I'll be sure to give Abby hers when she turns 16. You always did plan ahead, I never even knew about them until I found them the night after you died, a letter atop them explaining to me that you had collected these for the kids on the event of your death, and how they wouldn't have appeared had you still lived" she gave her head a shake, "sometimes, you were entirely to clever for you own good"

She stands to go "I'll come back next year, see you" she turns and walks away, leaving the wind to brush at her receding footsteps fondly.

TBC


End file.
